Pure Faith: A Study of What Faith Is and How to Live It Out Loud releases today! Enjoy an excerpt from the chapter “Believe More,” and when you’re ready to order your copy or learn more, click here!
So the followers brought him to Jesus. As soon as the evil spirit saw Jesus, it made the boy lose control of himself, and he fell down and rolled on the ground, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been happening?”
The father answered, “Since he was very young. The spirit often throws him into a fire or into water to kill him. If you can do anything for him, please have pity on us and help us.”
Jesus said to the father, “You said, ‘If you can!’ All things are possible for the one who believes.”
Immediately the father cried out, “I do believe! Help me to believe more!” (Mark 9:20-24)
Jesus’ rebuke reveals several things about himself and us.
- Jesus can. The issue isn’t about Jesus’ power but about the father’s faith. The father, says, “If you can do anything for him, please have pity on us and help us.” Just because the father is uncertain about what Jesus can do doesn’t diminish Jesus’ power an iota. Of course, Jesus can do something. Of course, Jesus can have pity and help. Jesus can do anything. However, that doesn’t always mean he will.
- The father believed. Certainly, his belief was limited, but he believed Jesus enough to approach him. He might have believed in Jesus more than believing him. He might have been familiar enough with what Jesus had done in the past and what he said he could do that he decided it was worth a try to ask for his help, whether he got it or not. Parents will take many risks for their children.
- The father doubted. Despite his belief, it’s apparent he doubted as well. The two-letter word “if” makes a huge noise when it wiggles its way into faith.
- All things are possible. God is clear with this message throughout Scripture. However, it’s important to keep the inclusion of “all things possible” in the context of faith. Just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it’s God’s will. Just because it’s possible, doesn’t mean you should pursue it.
What can you learn from these verses?
How can you invite God to challenge and grow your faith through the truth of his Word?
First, Jesus can. An essential component of faith is being confident in God’s promises. To believe God is to believe who he says he is and what he says he can do. What does God say about himself?
The Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “I am the Lord. The Lord is a God who shows mercy, who is kind, who doesn’t become angry quickly, who has great love and faithfulness.” (Exodus 34:6)
God is not a human being, and he will not lie. He is not a human, and he does not change his mind. What he says he will do, he does. What he promises, he makes come true. (Numbers 23:19)
The Lord your God is a jealous God, like a fire that burns things up. (Deuteronomy 4:24)
Because the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you. He will not forget the Agreement with your ancestors, which he swore to them. (Deuteronomy 4:31)
The Lord your God is God of all gods and Lord of all lords. He is the great God, who is strong and wonderful. He does not take sides, and he will not be talked into doing evil. (Deuteronomy 10:17)
Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go. (Joshua 1:9)
Who is God? Only the Lord. Who is the Rock? Only our God. God is my protection. He makes my way free from fault. (2 Samuel 22:32-33)
Come back to the Lord. Then the people who captured your relatives and children will be kind to them and will let them return to this land. The Lord your God is kind and merciful. He will not turn away from you if you return to him. (2 Chronicles 30:9)
But the Lord’s plans will stand forever; his ideas will last from now on. (Psalm 33:11)
God is the judge, and even the skies say he is right. Selah (Psalm 50:6)
See, God will help me; the Lord will support me. (Psalm 54:4)
God’s bread is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. (John 6:33)
And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us. (Romans 5:5)
The payment for sin is death. But God gives us the free gift of life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (1 Corinthians 1:9)
But you were taught to be made new in your hearts, to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God—made to be truly good and holy. (Ephesians 4:23-24)
Here is the message we have heard from Christ and now announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God’s child and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his one and only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. (1 John 4:7-9)
And so we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. (1 John 4:16)
I know, it’s a lot of information, but it’s not about information. It’s about God. And these verses barely scratch the surface of the truth of who God is. God is sovereign, which means he is the absolute authority. He created all things and is not subject to anyone or anything else. We don’t always like that about God—or anyone—because it means we’re not the boss, and we’re not in complete control. But what if we were? Wouldn’t we dislike that even more?
What if we had to control everything? The thought seems manageable and perhaps even appealing at first, but reflect on what you thought about being a grown up when you were younger. Perhaps you couldn’t wait to grow up so you could make your own decisions. You could stay up as late as you want, eat as much ice cream as you want, play video games as much as you want, read as many books as you want, shop where you want, and the list goes on. Insert whatever you most wanted to do or how you felt you were being held back and controlled, something you anticipated unburdening yourself with as you grew up. You’d get beyond it and be able to choose your own destiny, right?
Then comes adulthood. You get to make a lot of choices; well, you have to make a lot of choices! And you’re responsible for so much stuff. Yes, you can stay up as late as you want, but you have to be coherent at work the next day. Yes you can eat as much ice cream as you want, but you have to deal with the health effects and possible medical bills, or you have to buy more clothes to fit. You can spend your time however you want, but at some point you have to consider what should actually be on the to-do list and what needs to be ignored. You can spend your money wherever you want, but there are people who are rather fond of getting paid for things like rent, utilities, transportation, food, and so much more. So much for the fun of choice-making.
Not to mention, there’s so much more than just making decisions in our small worlds every day. If we want control, what about natural laws, morality, and purpose? It’s as if we want control, but we only want it where we want it. If we’re not interested or don’t feel as if we’re capable of taking something on, we want it done for us…until it’s done not to our liking, then we complain and wonder why-oh-why can’t someone better take control of it! We’re spoiled with the choices we have to make choices. If we want to grow our own tomatoes and make spaghetti sauce but want to buy the spaghetti, we can do that. If we want to make our own spaghetti pasta but want to buy the sauce, we can do that. But to have someone tell us how we have to make it every single time? Or to have to take control of every single provision and instruction? No way!
But that’s what sovereignty is: absolute authority. God has it. We don’t. We can seek God our entire lives and still have more to know. We can dig deeply into a faithful relationship with God and always have a deeper place to go with him. It’s not that God doesn’t want us to know him. He simply knows we cannot, as humans, fully understand him. He should know. He created us. He wants a relationship with us, and if he gives us everything we need all at once, how motivated are we to seek after him? And the relationship isn’t just about us seeking him; he is always passionately pursuing us. He knows all and is all and wants us to know him. The only way we can do that is to become less and acknowledge him more.
For more from the Pure Faith chapter Believe More, visit the blog on June 3rd.